Columns

I was recently contacted by a reporter who wanted me to share my thoughts on the “stimulus” and whether it had been successful.
I told her that the stimulus didn’t work, especially not the way Washington said it would.
There’s no joy in saying that the stimulus act – a record-shattering spending spree that was advertised as a sure-fire way to jump start our economy – was a failure.

A recent visit to a local restaurant in Lancaster found me waiting behind three wide bodies blocking the tea dispensers. Despite tilting the sweet tea canister 45 degrees they found none to be had, so they waited for it to be filled. It didn’t enter their minds to try unsweet tea just as it wouldn’t have entered mine several years ago.

On Dec. 9, the U.S. Department of Defense announced its decision to base many of its new F-35 fighter jets in South Carolina. Two training squadrons and three operational squadron, almost 90 new jets, have been designated for Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
That’s great news, especially given South Carolina’s current economy. The new jets will mean hundreds of new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in new construction projects for the state.

This column is in response to J.R. Wilt’s recent comments on the Indian Land Fire Protection District.
I take issue with Mr. Wilt’s assertion that firefighting is a part-time occupation. With the amount of training and time required to maintain certifications and the difficulty of recruiting volunteers, firefighting is becoming a full-time paid occupation.

The numbers are shocking – 110,000 students trapped in persistently failing schools, 30,000 students per high school class fail to graduate on time, 87 public high schools identified as “dropout factories,” $12,200 per student in spending and a mere 44 cents per educational dollar directed to the classroom.
The numbers, and the students that comprise them, are becoming well known. It makes sense that education voters across the state made their frustration clear in November.

Public education and public schools are not one and the same. Public education is an educated public. It is a public commitment to education, the public support of education and the public benefits derived from education.
Public schools were created to achieve those goals; some do, others don’t. But any school that successfully pursues those aims and equips young people with the social, economic and civic tools they need for success is serving a primarily public purpose.

First off, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Personally, I’ve got a great deal to be thankful for this year – including having Carolina Gateway and The Lancaster News permit me to continue this update column.
I thought I would take this first installment after the election to get you up to speed on what has been happening during the transition period (also called the “lame duck” session) in Washington, D.C.

Let me begin by expressing my enormous respect for volunteer fire departments and the people who man them.
Firefighting is, by its nature, a part-time occupation in that the amount of time spent actually fighting fires is far less than full time and there is a limit to how much time can be spent on equipment maintenance and training. The people who volunteer their time to serve as firefighters deserve our utmost respect and support.